VOA慢速英语 2007 0605b

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.  I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus.  On our program this week, we will tell about the new United Nations report on climate change.  We will also tell about an ancient burial place and a possible method to reduce blood shortages² in hospitals. 

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VOICE ONE:

Leaders of eight industrial nations meet this week in the German town of Heiligendamm.  The leaders are to discuss many issues, including the warming of the Earth.  One subject is expected to be a new United Nations report.  The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel³ on Climate Change released the report last month at a conference in Thailand. 

The report says the world has the technology necessary to reduce gases that trap heat from the Sun.  But it warns that action by governments and individuals must begin immediately. 

Groups of experts from around the world produced the report.  The groups examined scientific information needed to understand climate change.  They did not carry out scientific research.

VOICE TWO:

 
 
Earlier studies have linked Earth's rising temperatures to production of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide.  Some scientists have already said what they believe will happen if carbon dioxide emissions⁵ continue to grow.  They say long-term effects will include rising sea levels, damaging storms and severe lack of rain in different areas.  The scientists say this could result in extreme heat, more floods, and shortages of clean water to drink.  They say it could also lead to reduced food production and more world hunger. 

The new report expands on two earlier U.N. reports.  The earlier reports said climate change is likely the result of human activity.  They also said it threatens life on Earth. 

VOICE ONE:

The new report says severe climate change can be stopped.  It calls for immediate⁴ action to reduce the release of carbon dioxide.  The report says governments around the world already have the ability to slow or stop this pollution.  It says policy makers⁶ should support increased use of natural gas and less dependence⁷ on coal for fuel.  The report supports increased use of wind power and other kinds of renewable energy. 

The report suggests other ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  They include developing vehicles that use less fuel and speeding the use of energy efficient lighting⁸. 

The report says governments must provide support for such changes.  This will help industries develop new technologies and improve present methods of energy use. 

VOICE TWO:

The report says actions being taken today are not enough to stop the expected damage.  It says carbon dioxide emissions must start to fall within the next fifteen years.  Without additional action, the amount of heat-trapping gasses released by the year twenty thirty would grow by up to ninety percent. 

The report sets a goal of limiting the average temperature change worldwide to two degrees Celsius⁹ by twenty fifty.  That would require a gas emissions cut of more than fifty percent of emissions levels in the year two thousand.  The report says this will not be costly¹⁰.  It says this can be done at a cost of less than three percent of the world's gross¹¹ domestic¹² product by twenty thirty.  Gross domestic product is the value of all goods and services produced by any one country.

Last week, President Bush announced his own plan to fight climate change.  He wants fifteen major polluting countries to set a goal by the end of next year to reduce gases tied to climate change.  

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VOICE ONE:

 
People gather around the base of what Israeli archaeologists believe is King Herod's tomb
In the West Bank, a thirty-year long search may have finally come to an end.  Israeli archeologists recently found what they believe to be the burial place of King Herod. 

The Roman Empire appointed Herod as the ruler of Judea over two thousand years ago.  The Christian¹³ Bible's book of Matthew says King Herod ordered the killing¹⁴ of all boys two years old or younger in the Bethlehem area.  Historical experts do not know if this story is true.  But they do know that Herod killed many of his political opponents by the end of his rule.

VOICE TWO:

Archeologist Ehud Netzer works at Hebrew University in Israel.  He led the team of researchers who discovered the burial place at Herodium.  Herodium is a large area with many buildings and other structures.  It is built on a small man-made mountain about eleven kilometers south of Jerusalem.

King Herod built Herodium and its many richly designed buildings as an example of his power and wealth.  He also chose the exact place where he wanted to be buried.  But it has taken a great deal of searching for the team of researchers to find the area.  They had been searching for years at the bottom of the small mountain of Herodium.  In August, they moved their dig higher up the side of the mountain.

VOICE ONE:

Knowledge of King Herod’s burial comes from the first century historian¹⁵ Josephus Flavius.  He described how Herod’s body was carried to Herodium and gave details about his funeral.  Flavius wrote about Herod’s rich burial coverings that included solid gold objects, jewels, and purple colored cloth.  But the historian did not say where the body was buried.

The archeologists recovered many broken pieces of a sarcophagus -- a container used to hold a buried body.  The container was made out of limestone¹⁶ and measures about two and a half meters long.  Other broken pieces near the sarcophagus include stone cuttings made to look like flowers.  The costliness¹⁷ of the objects led the researchers to believe that this must be King Herod’s burial place.

VOICE TWO:

Other experts say there is still no evidence confirming the burial place belongs to Herod.  Stephen Pfann is a historian at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem.  He says Ehud Netzer and his team have made a valuable discovery.  But he says there is no way to be sure the place was King Herod's until someone finds his name among the burial objects.

The discovery has increased old political tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.  Both sides claim this area between Bethlehem and the Judean desert.

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VOICE ONE:

Scientists may have found a way to reduce shortages of type O blood.  Type O is the kind of blood that hospitals most often need.  What the researchers are testing is an easier way to make type O blood out of other kinds of blood. 

There are four main kinds of blood.  Most people are born with one of these four: type A, type B, type AB or type O.  Type O can be safely given to anyone.  So it is commonly used when a person is injured or sick and has to have blood.

Type O is the most common blood group.  But the supplies of it available in hospitals and blood banks are usually limited.  This is because of high demand.  Type O blood is used in emergencies when there is no time to identify the patient's blood type. 

VOICE TWO:

Giving A, B or AB to someone with a different blood type, including O, can cause a bad reaction by the person's defense¹⁸ system.  Their immune¹⁹ system can reject the blood.  This immune reaction can be deadly. 

The difference between blood types is linked to whether or not red blood cells contain certain kinds of sugar molecules²⁰.  These molecules are found on the surface of the cells.  They are known as antigens. These antigens are found with type A, B and AB blood but not with type O.

VOICE ONE:

More than twenty-five years ago, scientists found that the antigens could be removed to create what they called universal-type cells.  They could be removed with chemicals called enzymes²¹.  But large amounts of enzymes were required to make the change.

Recently, a report published in Nature Biotechnology described two formerly²² unknown bacterial²³ enzymes.  The report said these enzymes remove the antigens more easily.  To find these enzymes, researchers examined more than two thousand five hundred kinds of bacteria and fungi²⁴.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark led the study.  He worked with researchers from France, Sweden and the United States.

The next step, they say, is to complete safety tests.  The team is working with the American company ZymeQuest to test the new method.  If it meets safety requirements and is not too costly, it could become a widely used life-saving tool to increase the supply of universal blood.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach.  Our producer was Caty Weaver²⁵.  I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus.  Listen again next week at this same time for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

 

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 panel   

n.面，板，专门小组，控制板，仪表盘

参考例句：

• The unusual control panel on the walls caught our attention.墙上不同寻常的控制板引起了我们的注意。
• The panel of judges included several well-known writers.评判小组中包括几位知名作家。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

12 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

16 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

17 costliness   

昂贵的

参考例句：

18 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 immune   

adj.免疫的，有免疫力的，不受影响的，免除的

参考例句：

• I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力，因为我已得过一次了。
• Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀，永不沾。

20 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

21 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

22 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

23 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

24 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

25 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。